Says Paula, "Cousin Johnnie is one of the finest Christian women I’ve ever met. She’s my granddaddy Paul’s niece and when we were kids, she lived just down the road in Macon, Georgia. The summer I was eleven years old, I went and spent a week with her, and she taught me how to shave my legs with a dry single-edge razor with no handle. No soap, no water. She was all of thirteen at the time, but back then I thought she was a real woman. Although I hadn’t seen her in years, I recently reconnected with Johnnie, who now owns a bakery called Gabriel’s Desserts in Marietta, Georgia. It’s been such a wonderful relationship, and I just love her to death. We both come from strong women who worked outside of the home when it wasn’t necessarily the thing to do in the South, and we both make our living from food. Johnnie’s a fantastic baker, and her desserts, like these bite-sized red velvet whoopee pies, have won her a large, loyal following around Atlanta. Try them and you’ll see why!"

Ingredients

• For the pies:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• One 1-ounce bottle red food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• For the filling:
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract